Folktales of Bhutan

by Kunzang Choden

  Full of anger and pain, he could hardly wait for the hen to come home that evening. When she finally did come, quite unaware of the day’s incidents, she was totally perplexed when the monkey began to attack her angrily. Crazed with anger the monkey would have killed her, had she not been able to escape through the open window. As she ran for her life she met a needle who asked her why she was in such a hurry. When she explained, the needle said, “Let me come with you. Two are better than one.” So the hen and the needle went along together. They soon met a lump of salt who asked them where why were hurrying so. When they told him the reason he said, “Let me come with you. Three are better than two.” The hen, the needle, and the salt went together and before long they met a stick. The stick too joined them, saying that four are better than three.

  Together they went back to the house. The monkey had not yet come home. So they lay in wait to give him a nasty surprise. The needle hid in the crack of the floor, the salt in the ash in the hearth, the stick behind the door, and the hen on the beam above the hearth. Late in the evening the monkey came home chattering to himself. Not suspecting anything, he started to make a fire. As he blew into the cinders the salt burnt and sent out sparks into his face. Startled, the monkey sat down on the floor with a bang, only to be pricked by the needle in his fleshy rear. As he shrieked in pain the stick came out from its hiding place and continued the retribution by beating him up thoroughly. All this while the hen was excitedly dancing on the beam, cackling to herself: “cote coco, cote coco, he deserved it, he deserved it.” The monkey barely managed to run away but never returned to the house. So the four friends lived happily together.

  Aming Niwa

  She would drop her spindle down from the rock and watch the long lengths of wool twirl and spin into a smooth thread.

  Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. a small group of houses stood on a mountainside. This was a quiet picturesque village that was surrounded by willow trees. Nearly everybody in the village owned some sheep but all the sheep were herded by a poor orphan girl. She was the village shepherd. Every day she would take them to the pastures near the blue pine forests where there was always ample grass and shade for the sheep. While the sheep grazed she would sit on a big rock and spin the wool. She would drop her spindle down from the rock and watch the long lengths of wool twirl and spin into a smooth thread. She never tired of watching this and every time she would try and drop the spindle further and further down to see how far she could get.

  Every day, when the sun was directly overhead she would eat her lunch of kaptang, a flat circular bread made of buckwheat or wheat flour, and chili paste. When the sun began to sink towards the western mountain she would round up the sheep and guide them back to the village. She did this day after day and she had done it for as long as she could remember.

  Now one day as usual she was sitting on the rock and spinning when she saw that the sun was directly overhead and she knew it was lunch time. So she began to unwrap the kaptang from the torrath, the cloth in which her lunch was packed, when the whole thing slipped out of her hands and rolled down the hill. The shepherd scrambled off the rock and ran after her kaptang. The packet rolled down the hill, bouncing off the boulders, dodging between the trees until it was nearly at the bottom of the hill. Just as she was about to get it, the packet fell into a mouse hole. She stood there quite helpless. Then she called out, “Aming Niwa, even if you eat the kaptang, please give me back the torrath.”

  “Why don’t you come down?” came the prompt reply.

  “How can I come down? The hole is too small.”

  “Just close your eyes and step right in” advised the mouse.

  The shepherd closed her eyes and stepped into the mouse hole. Instantly she found herself in the home of the mouse. The mouse at once said, “Night is falling, why don’t you sleep here tonight?”

  The shepherd was surprised but agreed. The mouse then asked her what she would like for her supper. To this the shepherd replied, “I am a very poor girl, I can eat anything. Some leftovers would be fine for me.”

  But the mouse prepared her a sumptuous meal fit for a king. After the meal was over the mouse asked her, “How shall I prepare your bed?”

  “I can sleep on some rags,” said the shepherd.

  The mouse made her a very comfortable bed. She slept that night on a boden with soft blankets and a pillow stuffed with the softest cotton. Before she went to bed the mouse warned her that there might be a lot of hustle and bustle in the night and she might actually feel her hair being touched but that she must try not to be disturbed. Indeed, there was much noise and movement in the mouse’s house and she could feel little pulls and tugs on her hair throughout the night.

  Next morning when she got up the mouse was already busy preparing her morning meal. After a hearty breakfast she was just about to leave when the mouse gave back her torrath, which was made into a packet.

  “Don’t unwrap the torrath until you reach home. Now close your eyes,” said the mouse.

  The shepherd took the torrath and closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes she was back in the pasture with her sheep. She felt her hair, and every strand of her hair was strung with a precious jewel, turquoise, zis, and corals. She ran home and opened the torrath and it was full of more jewels.

  The rich girl in the village soon heard about the shepherd’s lucky adventure and she asked her about it. The shepherd in her simplicity and kindness told her everything. The rich girl was filled with greed and she too wanted to get the jewels. So the next day she took the sheep to graze and did everything that the shepherd had done. But when the mouse asked her what she wanted for supper, the girl stated confidently, “I am a rich girl, and I am used to eating well, so I expect a very good supper.” The mouse gave her some old khuli. The cold buckwheat pancakes were served with some even colder turnip tsaoem.

  When she was asked, “How shall I prepare your bed?” she replied, “I am a rich girl, I am used to sleeping very comfortably!” The mouse pulled some rags from a corner and gave them to the girl. So she had to sleep on some rags and cover herself with some more rags.

  Before she went to bed the mouse cautioned, “Do not be disturbed by the noises in the house tonight.”

  The girl thought she knew exactly what she was to expect. So when the noises started and there were little pulls and tugs at her hair she could hardly contain her excitement. As she peeked through her half-closed eyes she saw many mice around her and they started stringing things on her hair. The rich girl was extremely excited as she imagined all the jewels in her hair.

  The following morning the mouse gave her back her torrath and told her to close her eyes. When she opened her eyes she was with the sheep. She felt her hair and every strand of her hair had been strung with mouse dung. She did not wait to go home but unwrapped the torrath. It was full of more dung, dried grasses, and mosses. The rich girl was fuming with anger as bitter tears of shame and humiliation stung her eyes. This was the price she had paid for her greed and condescension.

  Acho La La

  Just then she heard the sound, “tsahlahhk” as the chain was hurled down.

  Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. in a lone house on a hill top there dwelt a farmer with his wife and their daughter. The elderly couple were tired of farming their little patch of land which yielded so little. But more than that they had heard that there was a sinpo in the locality who was terrorizing everybody so that they had decided to run away and leave their daughter. One day the mother handed her daughter a roll of bamboo mat and said, “Bomed,spread out this bamboo mat and dry the barley in the sun. Tomorrow I shall grind some flour. Stay there and mind the grain.”

  When any grains are spread out to dry the pigeons and the ravens always take great risks just to steal a few. So the girl sat near the bamboo mat on which the grain had been spread out and waved a long bamboo stick about, calling “shoo shoo” to chase away the birds. While the girl was thus engaged the parents were busy making preparations to go away. Sud
denly the girl noticed that a raven was sitting on the peach tree near the house and was cawing something to her with a tone of urgency. She listened and it said, “Bomed you stay, your father and mother are going away.”

  The girl jumped up and ran into the house. She was so relieved to see that her parents were still in the house. They had made a basket of tsog. “Lunch is not ready yet. We will call you for lunch. Go back to the barley before the birds finish it all.” said the mother sternly. She went back and once again began chasing away the birds.

  The raven went on cawing but she did not pay any attention to it until it began to dance excitedly and caw loudly and impatiently, “Bomed, you are alone, your parents have gone away!” This time when the girl rushed into the house she was dismayed to see that they had indeed gone.

  The girl was sad and lonely so she climbed up the peach tree to see if she could spot her parents in the distance. She looked in all directions but she could see nothing. She remained among the branches, frightened and tearful, when she suddenly heard a voice that said, “Whay, Bomed, throw me a peach.”

  Without realizing who the person was she plucked a big ripe peach and threw it to the stranger.

  “A khai, that’s fallen in the pig dung. Come down a few branches and throw me another,” said the stranger.

  The girl came down a few branches, again plucked another ripe peach and threw it to the person. Again the person said, “A khai, this one is gone into the cow dung. Come down and hand me a peach.”

  The girl innocently came down low enough to hand him a peach when the sinpo caught her hand and pulled her down. He then pushed her into the sack which he carried over his shoulders and took her to his house in sinpoiyul.

  As they entered the sinpo’s house the girl noticed a sickly old dog who feebly raised its head and looked at her. The dog had not been fed and it was starving. As she was passed by, it whispered, “Give me a mouthful of food and I will tell you three words of wisdom.”

  The girl took a piece of tsog which she still had in the folds of her kira and gave it to the dog who ate it gratefully and said, “Look into my ear and take out the three little packets. The seeds in each packet will be useful when you try to escape from the sinpo.” The girl took the packet and put it in the folds of her kira.

  The poor captive girl was not only very frightened but also extremely distressed for she knew that she would soon be eaten by the sinpo. One day the sinpo told her to pound some rice. As she pounded the rice the sinpo would call out to her and she had to answer his call, “Yes, I am here.”. In this way he could be sure that she would not run away. With tears streaming down her cheeks and her head hung low in hopelessness she pounded rice despondently. A louse in her hair took pity on her and spoke to her. It said, “I will help you to run away from the sinpo.”

  “Who is that? “ asked the girl, taken aback, for she had seen nobody in the house.

  “It’s me, a louse in your hair,” whispered the diminutive voice.

  “How can you help me?” asked the girl, at once filled with hope.

  “You must take me out of you hair and place me on the mortar in a bit of your spittle. Then you must run away as quickly as you can.”

  The girl found the louse and pulled it out of her hair and placed it in a bit of her spittle and ran away.

  Now every time the sinpo called the girl the louse replied saying, “Yes, I am here. I still have more rice to pound.”

  The sinpo did not realize that each time the voice of the louse was growing fainter. Finally all the spit dried up and the louse died. So when the sinpo heard no answer to his call he at once came to see what the matter was. On seeing that the girl had escaped he was indignant and began to pursue her right away. It was not long before the girl saw the sinpo in the distance following her. She ran as fast as she could but she knew that the sinpo would soon overtake her for he ran like the wind. She was quite desperate and did not know what to do for the sinpo was right behind her. Then she remembered the three seeds the dog had given her. She took the acorn pepper seed out and threw it towards the sinpo. In a trice a thick forest of pepper trees grew between her and the sinpo. The sinpo had to struggle through the forest and she could put some distance between her and her pursuer.

  But it was not very long before the sinpo was close behind her, reaching out and trying to catch her, when she threw the pine seed. A thick forest of pines that grew close together kept the sinpo scrambling through the trees for a while but this neither thwarted nor exhausted him. He soon caught up with her and she threw down the last seed—and a huge field of bamboo sprung up. The bamboo stems were entwined like a net and the sinpo had to work very hard to get through this forest.

  The hour was late and darkness was fast descending upon them. Soon the moon was rising, sending a faint glow all over the sky. The girl looked up towards the eastern hills and saw the full moon. She called out to him, “Acho La La, please save me from the sinpo. Send down your iron chain and not your woolen ladder.”

  Acho La La yawned prodigiously and said, “Wait a little. I am just rising.”

  “Please hurry, the sinpo will soon be here,” pleaded the girl.

  “Wait a bit, I’m just washing myself,” said Acho La La, without a trace of haste in his voice.

  “I can now see the sinpo has come very close, please throw your iron chain.”

  “Wait a little, I am just making my breakfast,” said the moon.

  The girl thought,” This is hopeless,” yet she implored the moon to hurry. But Acho La La was in no hurry at all.

  “I am just eating my breakfast,” announced the moon.

  “Please, please hurry up,” begged the girl.

  “Wait a little, I am just putting away the dishes,” said Acho La La, as if there was all the time in the world.

  “The sinpo is here, hurry up, Acho La La!” cried the girl.

  “Wait a little, I am just looking for the chain,” said Acho La La as calmly as possible.

  “I can feel the sinpo’s breath, hurry up, please, please,” cried the girl, now growing quite faint with fatigue and fear.

  “Wait a little, I am just straightening out the chain,” said Acho La La.

  Now the girl could hardly speak “Please hurry,” was all she could say. Just then she heard the sound, “tsahlahhk” as the chain was hurled down. With the last bit of her strength she climbed it as Acho La La began to pull up the chain. The girl could feel the tips of the sinpo’s nails touch the soles of her feet as he stretched out his long arms to catch her.

  On seeing what had happened the sinpo was totally incensed and he gruffly demanded that Acho La La1 throw a chain for him too. But Acho La La went through the whole process of rising, washing, preparing breakfast and having it, and then finally looking for the chain. By this time the girl was safely in the moon. Acho La La finally threw down the woolen ladder which floated down flimsily, for it was made of wool. The sinpo impatiently seized it and began to climb it with incredible speed. When the sinpo was half-way up to the moon, Acho La La took out a huge knife, which was rather blunt and rusty from disuse and began to saw away at the woolen ladder for a long time until it broke and sent the sinpo plunging to the ground with a tremendous “Byaaaak”. The impact of the fall was such that the sinpo went through the ground and was buried deep down in the earth. The girl decided to stay in the moon and look after the moon’s cow. Today if you look carefully at the full moon, you might just be lucky enough to see the shape of the girl as she milks the moon’s cow.

  * * *

  1 When somebody is very calm and slow in a situation that demands extreme urgency, it is said that the person is like Acho La La.

  * * *

  The Tiger and the Frog

  “Have a good look,” insisted the frog, displaying his mouth with the tiger fur sticking out of it.

  Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. on the edge of the deep blue-green forests somewhere in central Bhutan, a frog was having a glorious time basking in the warm sun. He
was sitting on the top of a large flat rock and looking at the world through his half-opened eyes. Suddenly a tiger came out of the forest and roared on seeing the frog. “What are you doing, brother frog?”

  “I am sitting in the sun and enjoying it,” answered the frog, quite startled by the sudden appearance of a tiger.

  The tiger leaped on to the rock next to the frog and lay down. “I have been bothered by lice lately. Pick out the lice for me, brother frog,” ordered the tiger. The frog quickly climbed onto the tiger’s head and began to pick out the lice. The warm sun together with the soothing and rhythmic movement of the frog’s fingers in his fur made the tiger sleepy and soon he was nodding off to sleep.

  The frog was getting restless for the more he thought about the possibility of the tiger eating him the more nervous he got. The frog wondered what he could do to save himself. Eventually he had an idea which he thought might save him. He pretended to pick out the lice but he actually began to pull out the tiger’s fur. He then stuffed the fur into his mouth and some into his rectum. When he was sure that there was enough fur to impress the tiger he began to question the tiger. “Ashang tiger, what do you eat?”